general/2766: It uses the incoming TTL as the outgoing TTL of an ICMP packet

[Don Hensley <dh...@ctaz.com>]

>Number:         2766
>Category:       general
>Synopsis:       It uses the incoming TTL as the outgoing TTL of an ICMP packet
>Confidential:   no
>Severity:       critical
>Priority:       medium
>Responsible:    apache
>State:          open
>Class:          sw-bug
>Submitter-Id:   apache
>Arrival-Date:   Mon Aug  3 04:20:00 PDT 1998
>Last-Modified:
>Originator:     dhensley@ctaz.com
>Organization:
apache
>Release:        1.2.7-dev
>Environment:
The server at http://www.tripod.com. Please read the entire report.
>Description:
Analysis: Node 'www.tripod.com' was found in 26 hops (TTL=1). It has a bug: It uses the incoming TTL as the outgoing TTL of an 
ICMP packet, which is causing the false hops at hops 13-25. It is a HTTP server (running Apache/1.2.7-dev). The last error is: 
'Time out waiting for ICMP echo reply' at hop 25. 
>How-To-Repeat:
use VisualRoute from http://www.visualroute.com/ and see for yourself. Always assuming that the diagnostic software I am using is accurately reporting. It is, of course, possible that the problem may be elsewhere, but it affects several totaly independent users here in Needles CA. The only thing we share besides a web site at Tripod, is our ISP (ctaz.com) which seems to be in the clear, as we can upload to many other sites, just not Tripod. Maybe it is in exodus.net servers, but the diagnostics show Tripod.
>Fix:
As you can tell I am just a "end user", I don't know anything about servers etc. I do know that I can not upload a file to my web site at Tripod.com, and neither can anyone else in the city of Needles, CA. Our server is ctaz.com. I have been sending the following email to every one I can get an address for at Tripod with no results. I have no trouble uploading at any other site (I have 3 other web pages on other servers). As the upload problem seems to have begun (so far as I can tell) at the same time the Tripod server began sending incoming TTL as outgoing TTL of a ICMP packet (whatever that may entail) I would suspect this may be why uploading to tripod.com has become impossible. It is, of course possible that the problem is somewhere else between ctaz.com and Tripod.com. The way to fix this is to establish that the problem is with the Apache software on the Tripod server and if so suggest a return to 1.2.6 or a patch or whatever you guys want. Just please try to help, please. Tripod's a O.K. place, just a bit hard of hearing right now. If you should want a copy of the full diagnostic run from my VisualRoute trace I will provide same, just ask. What follows is the email (striped of headers and attachments) that I have sent to every employee & department who has an accessible email address at tripod (that I could locate anyway).

Please see the two tables attached. The tripod server has a bug, I believe, and a serious one. It is not possible to upload any file to this server. Yes the FTP server seems O.K. but it can not communicate with the tripod server (see tables). I have now spent about 60 hours trying to get someone's attention, even if to tell me (and Datametrics Systems Corp. who made the software I'm using to diagnose this problem) that we are wrong. I am not having any trouble with any other site (I have 3 other web sites) so I would seem doubtful that my system has a problem unless it is a problem relating only to communicating with Tripod's server.
 
For what it's worth: I am a premium member & have been using all the various ways of uploading files (Cuteftp, Housekeeper - browse, and command line uploads. This problem started about 5 am PST on 7/30/98. I spent 24 hours checking my systems, before starting on net problems as a possible cause. I have been trying to get a response from anyone at Tripod for the last 24 hours. 
 
Next I guess I will have to start with the news services to see if I am alone in this problem. And that is what is rapidly becoming the problem - I could have a local problem causing this, but as I have it with no one but Tripod, and I have diagnostic data showing a problem with Tripod's server, I would expect at least a little acknowledgment that this has been checked out.
 
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